Episode 2 - Show notes and recipes
In which we discuss Sarah Winman's Tin Man and the shape her other novels have also left on us; along with what happens when relationships don't meet our expectations
We are back with episode 2! Thank you for all the lovely comments and messages about how much you enjoyed our first episode. We have so many ideas for future ones and can’t wait to share them and watch how this conversation and space evolve for us all. But back to this episode where we talk about Tin Man (which, if you’ve read, you’ll know why we lead with the above picture!) and Sarah Winman’s other novels and how to understand and deal with relationships that disappoint us. The answers may well lie in books that explore relationships that don’t meet expectations, yet end up being something much more fulfilling. And this could also be greatly aided by desserts!
Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.
Our thanks for this episode goes to:
Our podcast sponsor Kitchen to Table; a beautiful store based in Yamba, Northern NSW (and online) and stocked with absolutely everything you need for cooking, entertaining and more. Meredith and her team are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful plus they run wonderful cooking classes in store and in non-Covid times all over the world.
We will hear more from Meredith in the episode and in a special newsletter coming next week in which she shares a very delicious pasta recipe.
Thanks also to Sophie and Abby of Smith and Jones who have allowed us to use their song Secondhand Heart during this podcast.
Finally, our podcast producer Kristy Reading who again gives us another excellent reading recommendation.
This episode’s book
Links to things we mention and things we love
This interview with Sarah Winman where she talks about her choice of setting, first love, art and hope. Along with explaining the symbolism of the book cover
Two more Sarah Winman novels that both Sophie and Germaine loved: When God Was a Rabbit and Still Life
An interview where Sarah talks about her love of food
Our new Something to Eat and Something to Read book club via Instagram
Sophie’s recipe recommendations
Polpettone in tomato sauce
Serves 8
Prep time: 25 mins, plus overnight chilling
Cook time: 1 1/2 hours
This prosciutto-wrapped terrine baked in a puddle of tasty tomato sauce and sprinkled with parmesan is a total winner – that perfect marriage of the familiar with a few twists. It sits firmly in the comfort food column, but is fancy enough (and definitely tasty enough) to serve when friends come over. Serve it to a big hungry crowd with good crusty bread, butter and greens.
I highly recommend making a double batch as it’s a lovely thing to give someone for their own supper when things are tricky. Or to pop in your own freezer when you want to be helpful to your future self! This recipe comes from my latest book In Good Company.
2 cups (120 g) fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pork mince
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) beef mince
2 eggs
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 large handful sage, finely chopped
1 Tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
8 slices prosciutto
1 cup (80 g) grated parmesan cheese
Tomato sauce
2Tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 x 400 g (14 oz) tins Italian tomatoes
6 basil leaves
1/4 cup (60 ml) red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a small bowl and leave to soften.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Set aside to cool, then tip the mixture into a large bowl.
Add the breadcrumbs and milk to the onion mixture along with the pork, beef, eggs, mustard, herbs, nutmeg and a generous amount of salt and freshly ground black pepper (about a teaspoon of each).
Line a loaf tin with the prosciutto slices, leaving the slices overhanging the sides. Firmly pack the meat mixture into the tin. Wrap the overhanging prosciutto over the top and tightly cover with foil. Place the loaf tin in a roasting tin and carefully pour in enough boiling water to come half way up the sides of the loaf tin. Bake for 1 hour or until the meatloaf is cooked through.
Remove the loaf tin from the water and weigh the meatloaf down with a few tins of tomatoes (or whatever is in the pantry), then pop it in the fridge to cool completely, preferably overnight.
For the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 10 minutes or until soft and just beginning to caramelise. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Tip in the tomatoes and break them up with a wooden spoon. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often. Add the basil leaves and stems, the vinegar and sugar and cook for a further 20 minutes.
About 40 minutes before you’re ready to eat, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Turn the meatloaf out into a roasting tin or ovenproof serving platter with high sides. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatloaf, sprinkle the parmesan over the top and cook for 30 minutes or until the meatloaf is completely heated through and the cheese is melted and golden.
Note
Because there was a wood-fired oven lit and ready to go, we finished off the dish in there, but a regular hot oven is fine.
Granny Mary’s self-saucing lemon curd pudding
Serves 6
Prep time: 20mins
Cook time: 35 mins
If you don’t have a lemon pudding recipe in your repertoire, then here’s one to try. This is my hands-down, all-time favourite dessert and I hope it becomes yours, too. Serve it straight from the baking dish with a jug of cold cream, ideally in a bowl, by a fire, on the couch. If you or someone you love have had a particularly bad day, I think having this after (or for!) dinner could be a really good idea.
I have named this recipe after my paternal grandmother, who would often have the whole family over for roast lamb on Sundays. Dessert was always either floating islands or hot lemon pudding. Guess which one I loved most...
This recipe comes from my latest book In Good Company.
2 1/2 Tbsp (50 g) butter, softened
3/4 cup (165 g) caster (superfine) sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Grated zest and juice of 3 lemons – you’ll need 120 ml (3 3/4 fl oz) lemon juice
3 eggs, separated
1 cup (250 ml) full-cream milk
1/3 cup (50 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease a 6 cup (1.5 litre) ovenproof dish and line the dish with baking paper.
Combine the butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest in a food processor or blender and blitz for a few seconds. Add the lemon juice, egg yolks, milk and flour and blitz again so you have a smooth batter.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually fold them into the batter.
Spoon the batter into the greased dish and smooth the top. Gently place the dish in a roasting tin and very carefully pour in enough hot water to create a water bath. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes or until the pudding is golden and has bubbled up beautifully.
Serve the warm pudding with cold cream or vanilla ice cream.
Note
When I make this pudding, I do everything a few hours in advance and then leave the pudding, covered, in a cold spot in the pantry or laundry. Just as we are sitting down to our main meal, I pop it in the oven. This means that all the washing up is done and dusted (and to be fair, there’s quite a bit in this recipe). You do sacrifice a little bit of fluff and height by not cooking it straight away, but it really doesn’t make enough of a difference to bother anyone. And the trade-off of not having your sink full of mixing bowls right in the middle of dinner is definitely worth it.
Germaine’s book prescription
Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny
I’ve chosen this novel for our letter writer in the hope it will normalise for her the disappointments we all feel at different times in different relationships. It’s described as a “novel of an unconventional family”, but I think the point I want to make is that we are all unconventional. It’s also a story that shows what happens when we let go of a fantasy of what might have been and actually see what is, and how we can feel even more fulfilled in these relationships.
There is a lightness of touch to Heiny’s writing; she had me laughing out loud with this novel, along with her previous one called Standard Deviation. All her characters are unique, loveable and flawed. I hope this story brings many smiles to our letter writer’s face.
Meredith’s book recommendation
We’ll be sharing Meredith’s prawn pasta recipe in next week’s newsletter and the book she recommended is A Year at Hotel Gondola by Nicky Pellegrino. It sounds perfect for some armchair travel.
Kristy’s Recommendation
Our producer, Kristy Reading recommends this beautiful book in this episode and shares a little excerpt, I can’t wait to read this one.
The lost flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
How to write to us!
If you would like a book and recipe recommendation to help navigate life at the moment, please write to us. Each letter we answer will also receive a bottle of wine from Single Vineyard Sellers. Click here to find out more about their wines on offer.
Email your letters to either Sophie at sophie_hansen@me.com or Germaine at newchaptersbibliotherapy@gmail.com
We would love to hear from you!
Sophie & Germaine x
We acknowledge that the land on which we work and live is the traditional land of the Wiradjuri Nation and Wallumedegal people. These people are the Traditional Custodians of this land and form part of the wider Aboriginal nation known as the Eora Nation. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all First Nations people.